An Arctic Mystery
by American-Drama
Summary: I finally managed to add Chapter 4; Lust. In case you've never seen this before, it's about how Marisa Coulter and Lord Asriel first met and fell in love. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1: Mr Coulter

**An Arctic Mystery**

**Author's Note: Hi, this is a little message from The Nightshift. This is the first chapter of my first ever fanfic, and it is about Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter's lives before they met and and fell in love. I know most of this stuff belongs to Phillip Pullman, so please don't sue me lol. I hope you enjoy it, and please review ASAP if you get chance. Cheers.**

Lord Asriel and his daemon moved swiftly down towards the entrance of the board room. He had been called to a meeting there, which was being conducted by Mr Coulter, a famous politician. The meeting had already begun, so he shut the door behind him as he entered the room.

"You're late Belaqua," hissed Mr Coulter as he took a seat.

"Sorry Coulter," mumbled Lord Asriel sarcastically. Mr Coulter stared daggers at him before beginning.

"Now, I have summoned this council because I wish to discuss a matter of up most importance. An entity is stirring up the north, which has never opposed the church before. The ice bears of Svalbard are forming a rebellion against the church by inhuming all of its members in a manor which is unacceptable." An uncontrolled snicker emerged from Lord Asriel's mouth.

"Silence Belaqua, or you shall be removed," warned Mr Coulter.

"Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, the church is under attack from the ice-bears of Svalbard. They have already slaughtered several of the pope's most dearest followers, plus they have ambushed eight churches in Trollsund, Brusellhauf and Norweis, and are now targeting several churches in Tugenstreim. It is now time to act against this malice. I call upon one of you fellows destroy every last ice bear from the northern hemisphere, including the king, Iofur Raknison."

"But what if the ice bears were hired by another enemy of the church to do all of this," protested Lord Asriel.

"Do not question my decision, Belaqua," boomed Mr Coulter.

"Yes, but you said that the ice bears do not normally form a rebellion against the church, so it seems unlikely that they were attacking the church of their own accord."

"And who else can you think of that would want to harm such a powerful organization that is the church, vampyres?"

"Well for all you know, it could be."

"Right, let me make this simple for you," said Mr Coulter, addressing the whole meeting. "Many rumours have been spread around the world which concern immortal, blood sucking creatures known as vampyres. They are all lies."

"How do you know?" enquired Lord Asriel.

"Because the idea of supernatural, shape shifting creatures of the night is ridiculous."

"And so is the Authority."

Everyone's jaw dropped. There was a long pause.

"What?" hissed Mr Coulter through gritted teeth.

"There isn't an Authority," said Lord Asriel simply. "It's all lies."

"Well you are wrong Belaqua, because there is an Authority, and if anyone's right it's me. Now, since you know so much about the matter, _you_ will stop the attacks from going on in the north, and my decision is final."

"But Mr Coulter, I don't think that's a very wise decision," protested Lord Boreal.

"Quiet you, Belaqua, you are charged with killing every last ice bear, or you will be replaced. Is that clear?"

"Yes," said Lord Asriel.

"Then it appears that we have an agreement. You're working for your place in the institute, so don't expect any payment on your behalf. Also, you have six months starting from next week in which to complete this assignment. If it is not accomplished by then, consider yourself out of the institute." Mr Coulter swept back several strands of sleek, black hair and droned on for the next few hours about metaphysics. When that was over, the meeting was dismissed.

Lord Asriel couldn't stand Mr Coulter. Every meeting that he conducted was like being in a back at school, with him as the tutor and Lord Asriel as the student he always picked on. He was pretty sure that if Mr Coulter was a tutor in a school, he would be the one that everyone despised. The one that loved the sound of his own voice. The one that hated everyone, especially Lord Asriel. He knew why Mr Coulter hated him, it was because he didn't follow that stupid religion that every one else followed. But he was proud to be different. He also was very interesting when it was his turn to conduct the meeting. This was mainly because he didn't keep banging on about the church or the Authority of metaphysics all the time. He got straight to the point, and within moments everyone was enthralled, (except Mr Coulter of course, because he had mysteriously been unable to attend any of the meetings conducted by Lord Asriel.) As he left the headquarters of the Royal Arctic Institute, Lord Asriel imagined himself throttling Mr Coulter until he finally tumbled to the floor, limp and powerless, unable to irritate anyone ever again.

* * *

Later that night, Mrs Coulter was sat at home reading by candle light on her bed. She heard the front door open, and rushed downstairs to greet her husband.

"How was everything at the institute darling?" she asked.

"Busy," mumbled Mr Coulter as he walked into the study. Mrs Coulter sighed as she wandered into the kitchen. He was always like that, too busy to talk to her. It was as if she didn't even exist half the time.

"Do you want a cup of tea," she called.

"Yes please," he replied. Mrs Coulter groaned. He always took advantage of her. Every time she offered to do something it was "yes please," never "no, I'll do it thank you." One of these days she should offer to slap him round the face and see how he responded then.

When she'd finished, she handed Mr Coulter his cup of tea, and started to drink her own. She hated life with Mr Coulter. She had only married him for his power and wealth, and all he had ever done was treat her like a servant.

After she had finished her cup of tea, she returned to her book. After reading that for a while, Mr Coulter entered the room.

"Yes Edward," she sighed, snapping her book closed. He sat down on the bed.

"Marisa, I have to go to Norway next week, and I won't be back for another six months. I expect you to escort me to the zeppelin station, and to see me off before you do anything else. Is that point clear?" he asked.

"Yes, darling," said Mrs Coulter in the sweetest voice possible, while in her head she thought something along the lines of "what, again?"

"Right, Marisa. I'm just going to get back to work. I'll call you if I need anything," he said. "Call me if you need a throttling is more like it," she whispered under her breath as he left the room.

"Marisa, if you hate him so much, why did you marry him?" asked her daemon, Ozymandias, who had settled into the form of a monkey with sleek golden hair.

"Ozy, how many times have we been through this, I married him for his wealth, power and reputation, which is everything I ever dreamed of when I was a child. Whether or not I actually love him has nothing to do with it."

"But Marisa, surely it would be better if you had waited for someone who actually loves you," he suggested.

"Well, Edward is the best I will ever get, because he possesses more power, money and respect than anyone I have ever met," she said proudly, and with that she stood up from the bed and walked across to shut the window. Strange, she didn't remember opening it in the first place. Suddenly she heard a crash coming from in the cellar.

"Edward, is that you?" she called. No reply.

"Edward, what in the world are you doing down there?" she asked. No reply. Mrs Coulter decided to go and investigate. As she crossed the hall she noticed the door to his study was wide open. That was peculiar. Edward always kept the door to his office locked to prevent her from prying into his business. She started to panic. Had something happened to him? The crash sounded again. Something was definitely amiss. Mrs Coulter started to run towards the cellar. When she arrived at the door she stopped. If she let whatever was attacking her husband kill him, she would be free of his authority. But she would lose all of her wealth and power.

"Don't go in," begged her daemon, as if he had read her mind. "Please Marisa, don't go in." Mrs Coulter exchanged a glance of fear with her beloved daemon.

"I have to," she whispered. She slowly opened the door and descended into the cellar. What she saw made her blood run cold.

**Thanks for reading. Please leave a review while I write the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2: Blood Beast

**An Arctic Mystery Chapter Two**

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry that took so long to update, but my internet had a freak-out and I haven't been able to access it for ages. This chapter may be a shade more gory than the last on, but I am a HUGE fan of Darren Shan so I'm afraid you'll have to get used to my colourful descriptions lol. Please, please, pleeeeeaaaaase carry on with the reviews, as I am incredibly chuffed with the ones I have already!! Cheers**

He lay in its arms, as silent as a corpse as it fed on him. Mrs Coulter wanted to scream, but no sound came out. Her monkey daemon clung tightly to her shoulder, shivering in terror as his silky golden fur stood erect. The beast was tall with long blonde hair, and it was wearing a dark blue gown that was fastened together by a silver buckle. Its daemon was a wolf, and he was stood next to it, a mysterious red glow radiating from him like candlelight. But the thing that petrified Mrs Coulter the most was what the beast was doing, for it had its sharp, white fangs sunk into her husband's neck, and it was _drinking his blood. _Mrs Coulter had intended to scream his name, but it came out as a small, frightened squeak that sounded like the squeaking of a floorboard. The beast jerked its head up, and stared straight at her. Its blood red eyes shone with an eerie delight as it dropped him and advanced upon her, baring those terrible, blood-coated fangs. Mrs Coulter finally managed to scream, every nerve in her body tensing as pure shockwaves of terror were transmitted from her throat. The beast hissed, and leaped for Mrs Coulter's neck. She dived desperately to the side, causing it to slam into the wall, momentarily knocking it senseless. Mrs Coulter fled, but a freezing cold hand grabbed her leg, causing her to trip over halfway up the stairs. She screamed, frantically kicking her legs to make the beast release her. But it was too strong, and it tightened its icy grip. It then dug its razor-sharp nails into her flesh and dragged them down her leg. Shrieking in pain, Mrs Coulter swung her free leg with all her strength, causing it to collide with the creature's chin. It tumbled backwards down the steps, giving her the time she and her daemon needed to scramble up the steps, and out of that accursed cellar. Slamming the door tight, she gathered Ozymandias up in her arms and embraced him tightly, great big massive gales of shock whirling around it her head.

Suddenly there was a smash, and the beast burst through the door, blasting it to smithereens. Mrs Coulter screamed and ran. It gave chase, following her into the kitchen. There, she seized the biggest knife she could find and twirled round to face the creature from hell that was attacking her and her husband. As it dived for her, she swung the knife. She screamed as purple blood spurted out of the gash she had created and splattered all over her face, but the beast merely grinned. "You can't kill me," it hissed; its voice was a million female voices, all mish-mashed together into one, eerie tone. It snatched her knife-hand; twisting it so forcefully it made Mrs Coulter wince. Her knife clattered to the floor. She was defenceless. It then sunk it's fangs into her pulsing vein, and started to drink her blood. Gigantic throbs of excruciating pain ricocheted throughout her body, and all the blood ran to her wrist, causing her whole body to go numb. Her daemon squirmed around on the floor beside her, screeching and howling, begging the beast to stop, but it carried on drinking with an immense greed. With all her remaining strength, Mrs Coulter aimed a powerful kick at its stomach. All the breath was suddenly sucked out of the creature like a vacuum, causing it to jolt away from her wrist and clutch its wounded abdomen. This action gave her all the time she needed to snatch the knife up from the floor, to hurtle herself at the beast, and to drive the blade into its heart. But again the beast dodged the blow, and the knife landed into its right breast. Blood pumped out of the wound like a sprinkler. Mrs Coulter felt her stomach being wrenched out of her mouth, as if she had been chained to a swiftly rotating platform for several hours. But she managed to keep her guts down her throat, and, leaping onto the beast, she swung the knife with such passion, ferocity and hate, determined to kill, determined to put an end to this creature from hell. The first strike penetrated the forehead, causing blood to ooze out of its brow. Thrashing around in her grip, the beast frantically tried to grab the blade, but Mrs Coulter was persistent. SLASH! Another rip appeared in its neck, making it wince as the knife tore through veins and arteries in its throat. Finally, she launched the killer blow, plunging it straight into the beast's heart-

Silence-

The creature was still, but not quite unchanging. For in front of Mrs Coulter's very gaze, its features started to melt away. She stared in disbelief as it morphed into the form of a beautiful young girl. Mouth wide open, the woman could only stare at this poor little girl that lay on the floor, massive slits all over her body created by her own means, who was the minion of the devil that had plundered her home and ambushed her and her husband. Sobbing, she darted over to the nearest bathroom and violently vomited into the toilet, making her and Ozymandias feel as if their throats where being wrenched out by a pair of tweezers. That done, Mrs Coulter went over to the sink and splashed cold water over her face, gurgling it for several minutes to eliminate the lingering tang of puke from her taste-buds. She then ran back down to the cellar to check on her husband.

He was conscious when she arrived, but his face was even more pasty than it had been when he had gone out with Lord Boreal and gotten himself so wasted he was brutally sick all over the bed. His lifeless grey eyes flickered up at her as she approached him and placed her still shaking hand on his ice-cold head. "Edward, Edward, are you OK," pleaded Mrs Coulter. He groaned. "Edward, please, say something," she sobbed.

"Marisa? Who was that?" grumbled Mr Coulter.

"I haven't the faintest idea sweetheart. It could be a demon that the authority set upon us. But why would he do that, I mean, I haven't done anything wrong. Have you done anything bad?" asked Mrs Coulter.

"No I have bloody well not you idiot. How dare you even question my good nature," cried Mr Coulter, making Mrs Coulter jump.

"Please don't be angry my dear. Listen to me. I don't know what that thing was, but it must have been sent here for a reason. And since it attacked you first, maybe," she started, but Mr Coulter interrupted.

"What is it you think I've done, Marisa, theft, adultery? For all we know it could be your fault I'm laying here now, ill."

"Edward I can assure you I absolutely did not do it?"

"Balderdash, you always do it."

She wanted to say "in your dreams," but it would mean her wealthy lifestyle would hang in the balance, so instead she glanced at her daemon, and immediately he knew what she planned to do. Putting her hands on her husband's shoulders, she lowered her sensuous red lips to his filthy, waxy ear. "Darling, you know deep down that if you speak to me like that, there'll be no sex tonight," she cooed. "Yes Marisa," he whispered, immediately entranced by her soft, melodic voice. He didn't even seem to notice it was still shaking from the horrific events that had taken place only several minutes earlier. Mrs Coulter's rich blue eyes flickered over to Ozymandias, who had his paw placed between the hind talons of Mr Coulter's daemon (who was in the form of a starling with very finely spaced feathers), and then back to him.

"Good boy," she said, gently hauling him up and escorting him to the bedroom.

_A million miles away, where the wolf howls at the moon-_

_The hunter hunts his prey-_

_For he must feed soon._

_He stalks at night and sleeps at day, feasting upon the damned-_

_When he's gone the beast comes-_

_And death is close at hand._

Lord Asriel awoke with a start, beads of sweat streaming down his chest. That verse had been whispered to him every night for a month now. Every perfectly pronounced syllable made him feel so unnervingly calm. Every letter sent shockwaves of unnatural pleasure down his spine. Every decibel was bittersweet honey being poured down his ears. The poem spoke of a horrific malice, but the way it was spoken, so melodic, so sweet sounding, it gave him the creeps.

Jumping out of his bed, Lord Asriel strode over to the curtains and opened them. Sunlight streamed into his face like a piercing blade. He squinted. It took him a while to get used to the light. After that, he wandered over to his armoire and changed into a plain white shirt, a brown tie, a brown cotton waistcoat and beige trousers. Then, he entered the en suite, brushed his teeth, splashed cold water onto his face and left the room, his snow leopard trotting powerfully beside him.

When he entered the dining room he found a cooked breakfast already laid out for him. His manservant Thorold was already seated, reading the newspaper, and as Lord Asriel sat down and took a mouthful of egg, he glanced at him. "Are you still doing that presentation at the royal arctic institute?" asked the man.

"Yes, I just have some last minute preparations to make," Lord Asriel replied.

"Well, don't expect a big audience," said Thorold, holding up the newspaper so he could see the headline: "ROYAL ARCTIC INSTITUTE ATTACKED BY A FEROCIOUS KILLER," it screamed. Lord Asriel's mouth dropped open. He snatched up the article and started to read it. _At least fifty members of London's Royal Arctic Institute were found viciously slaughtered in their homes last night. From careful observations, the police have found that every single corpse was completely drained of all their blood, and two holes were found either in the wrist or in the neck. The only survivors were Count Gregorovitch, Lord Boreal, Princess Platanio, Colonel Carbon, Dr Broken Arrow, Captain Hudson, Mr and Mrs Coulter-_" Lord Asriel groaned "-_Professor Docker and Lord Asriel. Dr Broken Arrow was interviewed by Constable Cobbs earlier this morning. Here's what her had to say:_

"_Well, I was getting ready for bed, when the window smashed, and I was confronted by a terrifying beast with sharp fangs which he tried to sink into one of the major blood vessels in my wrist. But before he had chance to attack, I gave him a good old wallop over the head, before inhuming him with my father's sword." From that, it is perfectly clear that the killer was not human, but a demon sent by the Authority to punish the royal arctic institute. Further inquiries are being made into the affairs of this organization to find out what may have angered the Authority into authorising this attack. The institute has been closed by the Magisterium for this exact purpose." _ Lord Asriel closed the newspaper.

"Vampyres," he said without thinking.

"What?" said Thorold blankly.

"Vampyres. How else do you explain the fact that they were drained of all blood."

"I know, I bet that's mucked up your presentation a bit hasn't it your lordship," said the manservant.

"I fear that there's more to the situation than that, Thorold. It doesn't take a genius to work out what's going on here."

"How d'you mean?" Lord Asriel turned to face him.

"Well, I myself am a member of the institute don't forget. But I wasn't attacked by a vampyre, so I'm wondering.-"

"Yes."

"I'm wondering if it's not just the Royal Arctic Institute they're after Thorold. It is as we feared."

"What do you mean, Lord Asriel?"

"They're after the whole entire church," he said.

**So there's the second chapter for you, I hope you enjoyed it. I know what you're thinking, so yes, they will meet eventually. It's just I wanted to give it the same pace as you would an ordinary book, as I have quite a lot of chapters planned for this fic. Oh, and I just decided that An Arctic Mystery will be part one of a trilogy about Asriel and Marisa, as I can't get enough of them they're so awesome! Be sure to check out part two; Bridge Through the Stars sometime soon, and leave a review or something for it so I know how I did with it. Thanks. **


	3. Chapter 3: Attraction

An Arctic Mystery Chapter 3

**An Arctic Mystery Chapter Three**

**Author's Note: Hi again!! This is the third chapter in An Arctic Mystery; my version of how Mrs Coulter and Lord Asriel first met. With a twist; it's a horror/romance (I absolutely adore them). Which means it's scary, obviously. But hey, if you can't resist a bit of gore, and a bit of MCLA, then this is for you. There are also moments of dark humour as well, so please R&R if you dare.**

**Ps: I'm incredibly chuffed to smithereens with all the reviews, but it would be nice to see reviews different people. But that aside, thanks sooooo much for all your kind comments.**

**Pps: I have another fanfic coming out of the blues pretty soon. Bridge Through The Stars, I think I mentioned in the prev chap that it would be happening. It is about-hey I won't tell you what it's about. Read and find out.**

**Pps: This chapter may appear to be quite long. That's coz there's a lot of speech in it. OK I'll stop going on and let you read now.**

"Looks like we weren't the only ones last night Edward," said Mrs Coulter.

"Mmmm," he grumbled.

"Are you OK?" she asked, concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine thank you. Just because I don't want to talk to you doesn't mean I'm not OK."

"I was only asking-"

"Well don't. I'm fine."

"Excellent. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out for some fresh air."

"Good, get lost," he boomed as she walked out of the dining room.

"Twat," she said under her breath when she was outside. "I risked my life for him last night, and he treats like a piece of shi-"

Marisa," warned her golden monkey. Mrs Coulter looked up to find Lord Boreal approaching her. She swallowed a heartbeat.

"Hi Carlos. How are you?"

"Great. How are you Marisa?" he asked.

"I'm fine, although I'm still a bit shaken after last night. Goodness, what on earth did the Royal Arctic Institute do to anger The Authority?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's one of the artefacts or something. I'll give you an update when I hear anything new."

"Thank you Carlos. Well, what a night. Do they know for certain that the people in the newspaper the only ones who survived?"

"I'm afraid so. Were any of your friends among the deceased?"

"Yes, quite a few actually. But I still have Edward and that's the main thing. Goodness I don't know what I'd have done without him."

"I know. We couldn't have the one of the king's main advisors being killed could we now?"

"God no. Is the king alright? He was a member of the institute after all."

"I have no idea. He was of course one of the attacked, but he didn't die for some reason. He's been acting strange though. For instance, this morning we found out that he had a craving for black pudding. He didn't seem to like it before."

"That is strange. Well, I'd best be going now. I have my affairs to attend to."

"As do I. I'll see you later then."

"I hope so. Goodbye," she said, walking away. When she was sure he wasn't looking, she sharply turned into a dark alleyway and hid against in the shadows.

"Marisa, what are you-"

"Be quiet, Oz."

"What are you up to," he whispered. Mrs Coulter glanced around before looking back at her daemon.

"I have an idea," she whispered. It took the golden monkey a while to figure it out.

"You wouldn't dare," he gasped.

"Where are you going?" asked Thorold.

"I'm just going outside for a while. And while I'm gone, I want you to ready the library for a presentation tonight. And invite everyone who survived last night, excluding Mr Coulter."

"But Lord Asriel-"

"You're forgetting your place, Thorold. Do as I ask, and you may have the afternoon off."

"Yes my Lord," Lord Asriel nodded before leaving.

"Where are we going?" asked Stelmaria. He smiled.

"You'll see."

"And why are you so desperate to do that presentation? It's only about the biological structure of the yeti."

"I think we may find the subject somewhat changed, Stelmaria."  
"What subject are we talking about now?" Lord Asriel looked at his daemon.

"I don't know Stelmaria. But today, I intend to find out. Today, I intend to delve into danger to figure out something important, related to the attacks that occurred last night. And I intend to share it with all of the survivors tonight, excluding Mr Coulter because he won't turn up anyway."

"You're not going to The Royal Arctic Institute are you?" said the snow leopard.

"Yes," said Lord Asriel. "I am."

Meanwhile, Mrs Coulter was walking towards the very same place that Lord Asriel intended to go. Her daemon was nervous, and his fur stood erect.

"Marisa, we shouldn't be doing this. Please, listen to me. Look what happened last night. Wouldn't it be so much easier just to wait for Boreal," begged Ozymandias.

"I'm too curious to wait for that idiot, Ozy. I want to know what's going on."

"Please, there might be more demons."

"Well we survived last night didn't we?"

"But that was just pure chance. You may not be so lucky this time."

"They're easy to kill once you know how. The heart is their weak spot."

"But The Authority sent them. You'll go to hell for this."

"I don't care."

"Of course you care. Please, Marisa. At least admit you're scared." Mrs Coulter stopped in her tracks.

"I'm terrified. But I'm so curious. Curiosity is not a sin."

"No, but disobeying The Magisterium is."

"Shut up," she hissed. "Stop being such a coward."

"I'm not being a coward. I'm trying to protect you, if you'll allow me."

"Which I'm not so shut your face and do as I say."

"Please Marisa, turn around. Go home. I don't want to die."

"SHUT UP!" screamed Mrs Coulter. "Please. Make yourself useful for once and scout ahead to check if the road is clear. If it isn't, flash an image of what you see into my mind will you."

"Yes mistress," said Ozymandias sarcastically.

"Why are we going to The Royal Arctic Institute?" asked Stelmaria.

"There must be a reason why they're attacking now, Stelmaria. vampyres aren't patient creatures. If they wanted to attack the church, they'd have done so long ago. Something must have triggered the attack, and I believe that the source lies within The Royal Arctic Institute."

"But why there? Why not anywhere else?"

"Because, you see, The Magisterium are not that stupid. They know that the vampyres are after something. Something they possess."

"What artefact can be that important in the Royal Arctic Institute?"

Maybe it's not an artefact at all. Maybe it's some papers confirming a scientific breakthrough. God knows they've had plenty of them."

"But surely none of the recent discoveries are that vital. It's the older ones that are more important."

"No, not all of the recent ones were useless. I believe, and this is only a guess, but I believe that the discovery was something the church didn't like. Something that was discovered by none over than Boris Mikhailovitch Rusakov."

"Rusakov? Wasn't that the man that was killed by a Sea-Serpent on his way back from the north last year?"

"Yes. The Serpent was working for the church. They weren't too impressed by what Rusakov had discovered and they tried to destroy all the evidence of it. But they were too scared to deny its existence."

"What had he discovered though?"

"That, Stelmaria, is what I intend to find out. But my theory is that The Magestirium are pretending to look for whatever lies inside those four walls, when really they know what it is. They're protecting it. They're protecting it from the vampyres, because they know that they can use whatever it is to destroy the church. If that is the case, then I'm right behind them."

"How are we going to get in? It's heavily guarded," said Mrs Coulter's daemon.

"I have an idea," she said, mincing over to the guardian of one of the doors."

"Hi Mr Salt," she said, using her sexiest tone. He was entranced immediately.

"Great, now I've seen you," he simpered. Mrs Coulter laughed, not her real laugh, but a tinkling, sweet sounding fake, and before Mr Salt had time to say anything else she kissed him. Ozymandias winced. His mouth tasted of cheese."

"You're so naughty," he giggled as she pulled away.

"Want to see how naught I can really be?"

"Oh yes," he said. Mrs Coulter kicked him in the down-belows. Tears of pain formed in his eyes, and he dropped to his knees, clutching his wounded groin.

"Let me in, or I'll tell your wife you kissed me."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that-"

"Do it, or I swear I'll tell."

"Fine," he groaned, opening the door.

"Thank you," she said, entering.

"What if he tells Fra Pavel," asked the golden monkey.

"He won't. If he does he'll be executed for allowing me in," she giggled.

"Marisa, I love the way you think."

"Here we are," said Lord Asriel. The snow leopard gasped.

"They're determined not to let anyone get in aren't they?"

"That makes it even more exiting. Gosh it must a big secret."

"There's no way in. They're guarding every entrance."

"But they aren't guarding every wall."

"You can't kick one of the walls in. You'd need to have superhuman strength to get past them."

"You would. But it is not necessary."

"Then how are we going to get in?"

Lord Asriel walked up to one of the unguarded institute walls and examined it closely.

"What are you looking for?" asked Stelmaria?

"A secret door that I found quite a while ago," he replied. He stopped suddenly.

"Here it is." Placing two strong hands upon a suspicious looking section of the wall, he pushed. It swung open to reveal a library.

"They were fools not to guard that," he said, entering. Stelmaria followed. The door closed behind them.

"I hope you'll be able to find that door again," growled the snow leopard.

"I will."

"How?" Lord Asriel strolled up to the bookcase and examined the shelves until he found a book labelled 'Exit.

"Very clever," she said in admiration.

"Yes. Now, let's get down to business."

"Where are we heading first?"

"There is a safe, buried deep inside the institute containing all the discovery papers."

"Do you know where it is?"

"No. We'll have to explore to find out," Lord Asriel said.

"Be careful Marisa. There might be more of those demons. You don't have anything to defend yourself with," whimpered Ozymandias. Mrs Coulter walked up to one of the many glass cases kicked it. It was reduced to falling shards which made a loud tinkling noise when they hit the floor. Picking up one of them, she examined it before turning to her daemon.

"Now I have." Suddenly she heard footsteps coming towards the gallery.

"I told you Marisa. We're done for."

"Not as long as I have this," she said pointing the jagged piece of glass towards where they were coming from.

"Who's there," she called, nervously walking towards the noise of the footsteps.

"Show yourself." As soon as she said this, a shadow leapt down from the ceiling and grabbed her before she could do anything. Ozymandias was right. There were demons.

"HEEEEEEEELP!" cried Mrs Coulter, swinging her weapon around frantically. The demon pinned her down to the floor and bared its fangs. Screaming, Mrs Coulter kicked and squirmed, but it held her still. She could feel the creature's foul breath on her cheeks. It was cold, and smelt of blood. But before it could harm her, another shadow leapt out of the darkness and grabbed its waist. Mrs Coulter rolled to the side and jumped up, running towards the creature, jabbing the pointy end of the shard at her attacker. It collided with its chest, and would have gone straight through its heart if it was strong enough. But it wasn't. It smashed into smithereens as it hit the beast. Mrs Coulter cried in frustration. But she couldn't stand there for long, as the shadow had leapt from the other shadow's grip. It bounded after her as she ran out of the gallery and up a flight of stairs-and out onto a balcony. This was it. There was no where else to run. She sobbed in frustration. She could practically hear the creature's light, disconcerting footsteps as it ran up the stairs. Any moment now, she'd fall under its prey.

"What're we going to do," gasped Ozymandias. Mrs Coulter spun around. An idea flashed into her head. There was still hope for them.

"Hold on tight," she said, and with all the strength she could muster, she leapt off the balcony. Landing in a heap on the floor, Mrs Coulter tried to get up, but she couldn't. She'd twisted her ankle.

Marisa Coulter saw the creature running onto the balcony, hissing in triumph. She shut her eyes. But as the creature got ready to leap off the balcony after her, the other shadow seized it with its bare hands. She could see clearly now that the shadow was a tall, dark looking man with a snow leopard for a daemon. He twirled it round to face him, and before it could escape he _head-butted it off the balcony_. Mrs Coulter gasped in astonishment. The creature landed in a lifeless heap on the floor, not moving a limb.

"No... WAY," gasped Ozymandias. She could sense he was just as gobsmacked as she.

Her saviour then did something even more awesome. With absolutely perfect balance, the man leapt off the balcony and landed cleanly on his two feet before running towards her mangled body and bending over it. This was the first time Mrs Coulter saw his face. Piercing blue eyes, blonde hair, a clean, shaven face, extremely handsome, wearing a brown cotton waistcoat and beige trousers.

"Are you OK?" he asked. His voice was deep, low and rumbling.

"I think I broke my ankle," answered Mrs Coulter.

"Let's have a look at it." She couldn't stop staring at him. He was so gorgeous.

"OOOWWWW!" she screamed. The man had her ankle in his strong warm grip.

"Sorry. This might hurt though." He twisted her ankle back into place. She screamed in pain. It took her several minutes for her senses to adjust, and when they did she found herself mysteriously clutched in his arms. Even more mysteriously, she found herself melting into it. She pulled away in embarrassment.

"So what's your name then?" he asked.

"Marisa," she said, her ankle teething with soreness.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Coulter." He kissed her hand. His lips were so warm and tender. She longed for them to be kissing her lips.

"What's your name, might I ask.?"

"Asriel," he replied, examining her facial features closely. Blonde hair, deep, hypnotising blue eyes, incredibly beautiful, dressed in a golden, flowing dress. He had finally met his match. But her voice-it was the voice from his nightmares.

_A million miles away, where the wolf howls at the moon-_

_The hunter hunts his prey-_

_For he must feed soon._

_He stalks at night and sleeps at day, feasting upon the damned-_

_When he's gone the beast comes-_

_And death is close at hand._

**And that's how they met. Please leave review, and thanks to all those guys who have added this story to favourites and story alert. Much appreciated. Next chapter we see some action between them. The book did say they fell in love as soon as they met LOL. Another blip you may find is that Mrs Coulter is blonde and Lord Asriel has blue eyes. This is because it's based on the characters from the movie guys. Reason for doing this, I read an article written by PP saying that he thought Mrs Coulter looked better blonde than black. And Lord A has blue eyes coz he has blue eyes in da film and I can't have one character from the film and everything else from the book. I'm going by facts from the movie, but anything unsaid in the movie (I know a lot of things are sight) I'll take from the book, coz its only logic. Jesus, for some reason I can't stop talking today. Shut up already!**

**Brendan.**


	4. Chapter 4: Lust

**An Arctic Mystery Chapter Four**

**Hey, you may not have noticed but there was a mistake in chapter three. Mrs Coulter introduced herself as Marisa, and Lord Asriel was like Pleased to meet you Mrs Coulter. It should have been Pleased to meet you Marisa. Brendan you IDIOT! Anyway I should really take it off, correct that typo and put it on again but I really can't be assed. Oh, and also, sarahluvzu said that I may want to tweak Mrs Coulter a tad. Can I just say that you know she lies all the time yeah. Well, in my minds eye she comes across as one of those women who are all posh and stuff around men but strictly between her and her daemon (and later on Lord Asriel), she isn't that polite at all. Remember how she spat in Lord Asriel's face in TAS. That shows in her sea of poshness and etiquette there is a streak of rudeness in there that represents Lyra's rebellious nature. And Lyra wouldn't hesitate to say shut your face and st out loud. I will take your advice and tame her a tiny bit though. It's just when I did some PEE (it sucks, I know) about Coulter/Asriel in preparation for writing this I decided that Mrs Coulter would be nice around men, gossipy around women and downright rude to her daemon (remember she slapped him in TGC movie) an Asriel when she splits up with him at the end. Speaking of rudeness I can't stop thinking about that bit in the damn stupid book holes where the Warden slaps Mr Sir whilst wearing venomous nail polish. GO WARDEN!! See, Mrs Coulter THAT'S what you should have done to Edward when he proposed to you LMAO! I can picture it now, Marisa will you marry me? Slap. Are you crazy? Slashes his throat with her nails. How dare you be so bloody cheeky!! I wouldn't marry a useless arsehole like you! Hahahaha LOVE IT! OK I'll shut up now.**

"Asriel are you alright?" asked Mrs Coulter. His expression was somewhat dreamy and she could tell he was deep in thought.

"Asriel?" she repeated, louder this time. He stopped dreaming and the world came back into his eyes.

"Yes," he said.

"Nothing, I was just checking to see whether or not you were OK."

"Oh," he chuckled, "I'm fine. Sorry."

"No-no it's fine, I was just checking. You looked as if you had just found out that someone had passed away."

"Right," Lord Asriel blinked and took a deep breath. "Can you get up?"

"I think so," she said, but as soon as she exerted weight onto her ankle, Mrs Coulter felt a huge jolt of pain and it gave way beneath her. She yelled in discomfort and grasped her joint, gasping.

"Obviously not," she said, and laughed. Not her fake, pretend giggle, but her real one instead. He smiled briefly before offering her his hand.

"Here let me help you," he said, pulling her up.

"Thank you." It felt so exhilarating the way she swayed towards him, like she was about to kiss him.

"I really must be going now," she said, as her daemon leapt onto her shoulder.

"Where to?"

"I would tell you, but how do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't," was his only reply, and started walking off. Mrs Coulter took a deep breath.

"My husband speaks about you all the time," she said. Lord Asriel stopped.

"Your husband?"

"Yes," she said, showing him her wedding ring. "I'm married to a politician."

"Are you, by chance, Marisa Coulter?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What does your husband say about me?"

"He says that you're an arrogant, selfish, argumentative bastard." Lord Asriel laughed.

"Of course he would. But I meant, does he tell you about anything I do or say?"

"No. All he ever does is moan. Constantly. But he never tells me about your actions. I have a list as long as my arm of all the curses he's used to describe you."

"I see. Well, I'll let you get on then." But Mrs Coulter stopped him from going.

"Asriel, just one more question. What is it you're doing here, exactly?"

"That is none of your business. How do I know that I can trust you?"

"I see, you're returning my question. So I will return your answer, and that answer is you don't."

Lord Asriel was stunned. No one he'd met before had spoken to him in that way before. She was able to match his level of wit, charm and charisma, and he'd never seen anything like it.

"Have you ever heard of a creature called the vampyre before, Marisa?"

"No."

"Well, you were attacked by one last night."

"I was attacked by a demon sent by the Authority to punish us for something, but I doubt it was a vampyre whatever they are."

"That's a lie. The vampyres are one of the many direct oppositions of the church, but this lot aren't human. Well, they don't live like humans anyway. Like the tartars, they look human, feel human, and smell human, but inside is a completely different spirit. Millions of years ago, several members of the church made a terrible mistake. They opened a rift in the universe and unleashed the dark, sinister spirits that vampyres are. They were only spirits then though, but they waged a long, hard war with the church by behaving in a similar fashion to that of poltergeists. In the end, they made an agreement with the church that they would make peace with them in return for one thing; physical bodies. After a great deal of persuasion, the church decided to let them inhabit the dead bodies of unholy, unimportant people on the condition that they would treat the church as if it didn't exist. And they did just that, until now."

"But the daemon. How come they have daemons?"

"It was part of the agreement. They would only accept the bodies they had been given as long as they have daemons. But unlike yours or mine, they can change shape."

"I see. So if the vampyres swore that they would keep away from the church, why aren't they doing so now? What has triggered them to break the oath that they gave to them?"

"I have no idea. That's what I'm here to find out. Now, what are you here for?"

Mrs Coulter drew a breath. He had been honest with her, so why shouldn't she be honest with him?

"I want to know what provoked the Authority to unleash his dark minions. But if that is not the truth then I want to know what is."

"Come with me then. Come with me and together we'll find the truth that both you and I seek," he said powerfully.

"I cannot. I don't know enough about you." Asriel sighed.

"You see, Mr Coulter is not the only one who's been talking about you. They say you plan to wage a war against the Authority. Is this true?" she asked. He took a deep breath.

"Yes, it is true. The Authority has lied to us too many times. He wants to control every universe in existence, and the Magisterium are there to help him with his plan."

"But Asriel, without the Authority there would be no order in the world. There would be no one to tell people what to do."

"I don't particularly like being told what to do." There was a pause. He had that look in his eye that suggested greed and power, more power than Edward could ever wish for. And she felt so strange too. A new sensation that she had never felt before in her life. Excitement mixed with fear and greed. It started of as a spark in her heart, but is grew and grew, until it had spread out to the tips of her soft, curly locks and her shiny, smooth nails. Tingling all throughout her, like a case of the shivers, only warm, like she was sinking into a hot bath. Her heart beat faster and faster with every second, a feeling of steaming excitement like she was in possession of the greatest power ever.

"Asriel..."

Mrs Coulter reached towards him. He knew at once what was happening, and his hand closed around hers as he gently pulled her towards him. Then as if by destiny, she felt her head slowly moving towards his as if he were a magnet. Their lips touched, but only for a brief moment before she pulled away, realising in shame what she had done. She was a married woman, and she had kissed another man out of pure lust and voraciousness. Tears of disgrace started to well up in her eyes, and in seconds the powerful, charming, seductive Mrs Coulter had become a sobbing, vulnerable wreck. Almost at once, he placed a comforting hand underneath her chin and whipped her tears away.

"Asriel, what have I done?"

"Done? You have done nothing Marisa."

And then his mouth collided with hers, and they locked in a passionate kiss. There was the sensation of floating upwards with him, upwards for infinity as if there were not a care in the world. His hand clasped her left cheek and gently stroked it, a tickling, tingling sensation spreading all around her cheek up to her ear. Her hand clasped his waist and slowly crept towards his shoulders, pulling him closer and closer. A rich, bittersweet taste lingered on his tongue and she caressed it slowly with her own, a sweet, scented taste masking a different taste not that dissimilar to Asriel's. Using all the willpower she could marshal, Mrs Coulter softly broke away from the kiss, and gazed into his piercing blue eyes amorously. Neither of them noticed the vampyre Lord Asriel had knocked out stalking towards them, hissing and spitting, intent on hell-bent revenge.

**End of chapter four. Please, please, please carry on with the reviews, I'm loving all the fantastic compliments you have left so far.**

**I am planning on posting a corrected version onto my in-progress website so please alert me if you spot any mistakes in this chapter. Thanks :)**


End file.
